Weaving Cultural Identities

Touring Exhibition

Current Venue

Pentiction Art Gallery

Penticton BC

September 18, 2021 – November 7, 2021

Description

The Weaving Cultural Identities exhibition brings together Indigenous and Islamic communities in a collaborative exploration of weaving traditions and histories, thereby unpacking uneasy issues of belonging, displacement, diaspora, the land, and identity.

The exhibition features 10 woven prayer rugs created by 10 Coast Salish Indigenous artists and 8 Muslim artists. The project is a visual manifest of prominent, national dialogues surrounding the reconciliation of heritage, and the sharing and celebration of cultural knowledge, symbolism, and self-identification through textile traditions.

The Weaving Cultural Identities project was inspired by Saudi Arabian artist Ajlan Gharem’s public installation Paradise Has Many Gates, a chain-link mosque installed in Sen̓áḵw – Vanier Park, Vancouver, British Columbia as part of the 2018-2021 Vancouver Biennale’s curatorial theme of “re-IMAGE-n.” By reimagining Vancouver’s Indigenous and migrant communities’ loss of identity and sacred traditions through displacement, we can work towards reintroducing traditional practices that reflect spiritual healing and cultural restoration.